PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Don Krull (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thomas Payne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Krull
vs
Payne

175 cm
22
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

177 cm
20
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Prefers ground

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Don Krull!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Thomas Payne!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Payne looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Krull is fending him off so far but Payne persists. Nope, Krull circles away and we're back to standing.
Payne keeps the fight on the outside.
Don Krull seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Krull gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Payne counters with a nice double leg into side control. Krull won't be happy with that.
Krull wants to get back to his feet.

Payne stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Krull shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Payne holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Payne stops a takedown attempt from Krull.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Don Krull. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Krull is breathing heavily.
Payne has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Krull avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Payne blocking some punches.
Krull misses with a short punch on the inside.

Krull successfully pulls guard.
Krull wants to improve his position but instead Payne has moved into half guard.
Payne passes to full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne controlling from the full mount.
Krull stops Payne from taking his back. Still, being mounted isn't any better.

Payne stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Krull throws a head kick that Payne semi-blocks.
Krull closes the distance but Payne moves to the side

and Payne counters with a nice double leg into side control. Krull won't be happy with that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payne passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Krull!

Payne stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Krull doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Payne counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Payne performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Krull keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Krull trying to control but Payne postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Krull wants to get back to full guard.
Payne is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Krull trying to hold on to Payne's head to control him but Payne postures up.
Payne keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Krull has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Payne is working away from the top position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Krull is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
Krull wants to improve his position but Payne is controlling well.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Payne doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Krull counters with a shoot takedown. Payne fights it but they end up in guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Krull decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Payne, up you get!
Payne has a takedown stuffed.
Krull tries to clinch

and Payne counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Krull!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Payne dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Krull misses with a takedown attempt - Payne sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Krull fails with a takedown attempt.
Payne swats away the attempt to clinch by Krull.
The fight stays on the outside here - Krull looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Payne feints and as Krull raises his hands in defense, Payne changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

Payne decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Payne throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Krull's waist but Krull gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Payne off to one side.
Krull tries to clinch but Payne moves out of range.

Payne feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Payne gets to his feet - Krull follows without any prompting.
Krull with a lazy takedown attempt

so Payne counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Don Krull. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Payne gets to his feet. Krull looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Don Krull is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Krull scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Krull is looking to take a break and control but Payne is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Payne gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

Krull goes for an armbar but Payne turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Payne.
Krull looking to hit a scissor sweep but Payne is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Payne gets to his feet. Krull looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Payne misses with a takedown

so Krull counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Payne trying to keep a closed guard but Krull is proving a slippery customer.
Krull trying to control but Payne is working from the bottom.
Krull content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Krull trying to control the position from guard on top but Payne is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Krull advances position into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payne is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Krull asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Krull in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Krull tries to advance to mount but can't.
Krull working away.
Krull controls the position.

Krull tries for a kimura but Payne is defending well.

Krull looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Krull passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Payne!
Krull wants to control the pace but Payne is squirming around nicely.
Krull controlling the position easily from mount.
Krull fails to take his opponent's back.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Payne wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Krull.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Thomas Payne will probably get the nod - 10:9.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Krull tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Payne counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Payne will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Krull wants to clinch but Payne slips to the side

and Payne counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Payne prevents Krull from improving his position.

Payne decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Krull fails with the takedown

and Payne counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Krull is not content to let Payne control the position.
Krull tries to roll over but Payne keeps him under control.
Payne seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Krull works his way to full guard. Good work.
Payne slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Payne decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Payne instigates a clinch.
Krull is working for takedown but Payne is calmly controlling the position for now.

Payne lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Payne prevents Krull from improving his position.

Payne stands up from half guard.
Krull clinches but Payne breaks the clinch

so Payne counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Payne avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Krull looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Payne slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Krull wants to sweep but no luck.

Krull working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Payne doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Payne manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Krull had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Payne is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Krull Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Payne's back instead.
Thomas Payne has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Payne is having to fend off submission attempts from Krull, who is looking to sink in the choke. Krull doesn't have the hooks in though and Payne manages to reverse position! He's now on top, in his opponent's guard.
Payne wants to control from the top but Krull keeps moving.
Payne preventing the sweep.
Payne sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Krull looking for a guillotine here but Payne defends easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Krull working a defensive guard but Payne manages to pass into side control anyway.
Don Krull has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Krull striking from the bottom but nothing landed.
Krull is looking for a sweep.
Krull wants to control but Payne postures up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Krull is looking to reverse the position.
Payne working away.
Krull is looking to regain half guard here but Payne keeps moving and retains side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thomas Payne comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Payne winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Andi Peters scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thomas Payne!